And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
The hearers were the covetous Pharisees, including the scribes, selfish and avaricious people who valued others by wealth and worldly honor and who served mammon instead of making mammon serve the interests of God's kingdom on earth. They heard Christ's parable of the unjust steward and His teaching that faithfulness in the least measures faithfulness in much. They heard that unfaithfulness in unrighteous mammon and in another man's goods disqualifies a person from true riches and his own. They heard that no one can serve both God and mammon or riches.
When they heard this teaching they derided Him with contempt and mockery. Their derision was tied to their love of wealth and exposed a covetous, corrupt and sinful heart. They justified themselves before people, but God knew their hearts. Despite their standing among men they lacked true moral worth and soundness.
Wealth and worldly honor gave them no value in God's sight, and what people highly esteem is an abomination to Him. This is especially true of riches acquired by oppression, deception, overreaching, fraud, robbery, unjust dealing, or any other dishonest manner. Such riches can bring no lasting gain, and those who pursue that course are valueless to God, despised and rejected and cast out from His sight as disgusting to Him.
Their avaricious, grasping spirit brought them under Satan's control and lay behind their opposition to and hatred of Christ, because His teaching and example rebuked it. Hearing while tampering with dishonest practices shows that such a course advances in evil, and their continued impenitence, pride and covetousness was leading them to ruin. The whole instruction is to be read, believed and obeyed by everyone.
Covetousness and grasping dealings are opposed to heaven and cannot be cherished among God's people. Those engaged in God's work must reveal Christ's kindness, sympathy and goodness, avoid sharp abrupt rebukes, and do all work on land and buildings in God's way without making wrong impressions on workers.
The hearers were the covetous Pharisees, including the scribes, selfish and avaricious people who valued others by wealth and worldly honor and who served mammon instead of making mammon serve the interests of God's kingdom on earth. They heard Christ's parable of the unjust steward and His teaching that faithfulness in the least measures faithfulness in much. They heard that unfaithfulness in unrighteous mammon and in another man's goods disqualifies a person from true riches and his own. They heard that no one can serve both God and mammon or riches.
When they heard this teaching they derided Him with contempt and mockery. Their derision was tied to their love of wealth and exposed a covetous, corrupt and sinful heart. They justified themselves before people, but God knew their hearts. Despite their standing among men they lacked true moral worth and soundness.
Wealth and worldly honor gave them no value in God's sight, and what people highly esteem is an abomination to Him. This is especially true of riches acquired by oppression, deception, overreaching, fraud, robbery, unjust dealing, or any other dishonest manner. Such riches can bring no lasting gain, and those who pursue that course are valueless to God, despised and rejected and cast out from His sight as disgusting to Him.
Their avaricious, grasping spirit brought them under Satan's control and lay behind their opposition to and hatred of Christ, because His teaching and example rebuked it. Hearing while tampering with dishonest practices shows that such a course advances in evil, and their continued impenitence, pride and covetousness was leading them to ruin. The whole instruction is to be read, believed and obeyed by everyone.
Covetousness and grasping dealings are opposed to heaven and cannot be cherished among God's people. Those engaged in God's work must reveal Christ's kindness, sympathy and goodness, avoid sharp abrupt rebukes, and do all work on land and buildings in God's way without making wrong impressions on workers.